New fundraiser to help children’s hospice charity meet increasing demand

ellenor has recently appointed Martin Street as the new Area Fundraiser for South West Kent. He has been appointed to help meet the increasing demand for this vital service. which is funded by the local community.

As a charity, not part of the NHS, ellenor needs to raise over £6.7 million each year to provide its round-the-clock care for families facing terminal illness.This includes providing medical treatments such as chemotherapy in the home for children, which prevents lengthy or stressful stays in hospital and means families can stay together.

Demand for ellenor’s services in South West Kent is continuing to grow.In the last three months, there has been an increase in 30% of referrals of terminally ill children in the area - so the need to raise funds to meet this growth is critical, as without this service many families would be left to cope alone.

Martin comes to ellenor with nearly 30 years’ experience gained from working in charity, corporate, co-operative, education and therapeutic sectors. More recently, he taught employability skills and sourced work placements for students with learning disabilities at Mid Kent College in Maidstone and Medway. He is also a qualified Clinical Hypnotherapist. Martin succeeds Angela Ward who has taken on a new role with the charity.

“I’m so proud to have joined this great charity,” says Martin. “The opportunity to work for ellenor couldn’t have come at a better time for me personally and I’m really excited about the future. It will be a privilege to work with my colleagues and our wonderful donors and volunteers to help support terminally ill children in SW Kent.”

The care ellenor gives is provided free at point of use, meaning families never have to pay a penny.

“We are delighted that Martin has joined our fundraising team,” says Linda Trew, Head of Community. “We know that Martin will be welcomed by the community in which we serve. He brings with him bags of energy, enthusiasm and professionalism.”

Martin would love to hear from schools, colleges and community groups which would be interested in a talk about ellenor’s work in the community and the services it offers, and to hear impacting stories from local families about what it is like living with terminal illness. Please call him on: 01474 320007.